A crate labeled “Man Coats” helped launch an investigation ultimately resulting in a federal prison term for a Warwick, Rhode Island, man and the seizure of items valued at more than $1.02 million and nearly $56,000 in cash.

Norman Cipriano, 41, was sentenced to 50 months for trafficking more 14,500 counterfeit sports jerseys, clothing accessories and health and beauty products, according to U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha.

“The worldwide theft of intellectual property and the sale of counterfeit goods is, unfortunately, a burgeoning and increasingly dangerous crime,” Neronha said Friday.

Neronha announced the details of the sting in a joint press conference with Bruce M. Foucart, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations, and Warwick Police Chief Colonel Stephen M. McCartney. HSI agents work under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith ordered Cipriano to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term.

Authorities will determine a restitution amount to be paid by Cipriano “to various companies impacted in this matter … at a later date,” according to Neronha’s office.

“The distribution of counterfeit medications, both over-the-counter, as in this case, and prescription narcotics, as in other cases we have seen, present an obvious health and safety threat,” Neronha said. “Trafficking in other counterfeit goods, such as apparel and other consumer products, may seem more innocuous, but nevertheless demands the same aggressive attention from law enforcement. Such criminal misconduct causes irreparable economic harm to the companies that make the real article, including such companies’ ability to maintain and create jobs for everyday Americans.”

ICE HSI agents “investigate a wide range of domestic and international activities arising from the illegal movement of people and goods into, within and out of the United States,” according to the agency.

They look into reports of immigration crime, human rights violations and human smuggling, smuggling of narcotics, weapons and other types of contraband, financial crimes, cybercrime and export enforcement issues.

Neronha said that agents in Alaska first detected Cipriano’s criminal activity.

According to information presented at court, Customs and Border Protection agents in Anchorage, Alaska, conducted a routine border search of a package arriving from the People’s Republic of China addressed to Cipriano at his Warwick home. They informed HSI agents in Rhode Island.

“I am grateful for the vigilance of the (CBP) agents in Alaska who first recognized the defendant’s attempt to bring counterfeit and illegitimate items to our shores,” he explained in a written statement. “HSI agents in Rhode Island, working with Warwick police detectives and officers and other federal, state and local law enforcement officials, took it from there, building a strong case that ultimately led to today’s entirely appropriate sentence.”

The shipment was manifested as “Man Coats,” according to federal agents. Once investigators looked inside, they discovered sports jerseys with NFL football and Nike trademarked logos.

“The notion that counterfeit products are a victimless crime is absurd,” said Eric Caron, resident agent in charge of HSI Providence. “Criminals who sell counterfeit goods are economic leeches that siphon trade from legitimate businesses that pay taxes, create jobs and support our local economy.”

CBP agents shipped the package to HSI agents in Rhode Island. Agents arranged a controlled delivery to Cipriano’s residence on Aug. 23, 2012, with the assistance of the HSI Boston Gangs/Commercial Fraud Unit and Warwick police.

“Simultaneously, working in conjunction with HSI agents from Boston who had already begun an investigation into Cipriano’s alleged importation and sale of counterfeit merchandise at a flea market in Raynham … (agents) continued the investigation which included multiple visits and surveillance of Cipriano’s activities at the flea market and at his home,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard B. Sullivan prosecuted the case.

Management at the Raynham Flea Market confirmed Cipriano’s items were sold at the market, from an outdoor booth, but through a third party. Owner Jeff Mann said a Fall River man was selling goods at the market on behalf Cipriano.

Mann said that flea market management had immediate concerns the pair were possibly dealing in “fake” goods.

“These guys were very, very clever,” Mann said Sunday in the back office of the Raynham Flea Market as the morning’s vendors filed in to pay their weekly rent. “They mixed in real items with the fake ones.”

Mann said flea market management questioned both Cipriano and his front man, and the pair produced a stack of receipts that seemed to indicate the items were purchased legally.

“Cipriano was always in the background,” Mann said. “They produced receipts and invoices from legitimate wholesalers.”

Cipriano’s operation sold goods at the flea market for about 12-16 weeks, Mann said. Cipriano also operated an indoor booth at the market quite a few years prior to his arrest, Mann said. At that time, it appears the Rhode Island man was dealing in legitimate goods and collectibles.

In December 2010, another booth at the Raynham Flea Market was the target of an investigation into selling counterfeit items.

Raynham police confiscated several items, including unlicensed sporting goods, jackets, sneakers and iPod covers on sale at the 480 W. South St. marketplace that features more than 500 exhibitors spread over more than 57,000 square feet.

Christine Kelly, manager of the Raynham Flea Market, said at the time that any vendor intentionally selling counterfeit goods would be removed from the premises.

“If it was someone who knowingly did that it would result in expulsion,” Kelly told the Taunton Gazette.

Mann is a founding member and former chairman of the board of the National Flea Market Association. He wishes the entire flea market industry could find a way to work more closely with intellectual property owners to combat the sale of counterfeit goods.

“One thing we don’t do well, we don’t respond well to these types of incidents as an industry,” Mann said.

He also pointed out the difference between “knock-offs” and “fakes.” “Knock-offs” are items that appear similar to usually high-end, name brand items, but may spell the name differently on the logo. A “fake,” however, is as close to a copy of the trademarked item as possible. It’s legal to sell knock-offs, but not fakes, Mann said.

HSI agents from Rhode Island and Boston executed a search warrant at Cipriano’s home and two vehicles used to transport counterfeit goods on Sept. 19, 2012.

Agents seized nearly 5,000 counterfeit items, including a significant quantity of fake over-the-counter medications, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

“In total, agents seized approximately 14,700 counterfeit items conservatively valued at more than $1.02 million and nearly $56,000 in cash, money orders and a bank check,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “The following day the government seized a bank account containing more than $76,000, which belonged to Cipriano.”

Mann said that Cipriano and his front man were not selling medications at the flea market.

Over the course of the investigation, agents seized more packages destined for Cipriano’s home.

Also, in October, 2012, as a result of his arrest, Cipriano was found to be a probation violator. He was convicted in 2005 in Rhode Island state court for conspiracy and receiving stolen property, and served 22 months in state prison on the violation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Authorities urged shoppers not to turn a blind eye when they spot counterfeit goods for sale.

“Buying them may appear at first to be a bargain, but when we take into account the common nexus to organized crime or worse, the laborers who may be forced to work in substandard conditions, and the locally owned stores that are forced to close their doors, we see that this ‘victimless crime’ harms all of us in the long run,” Caron said.